Brad Wing has some work to do. The nasty stench that clung to him at LSU has followed to Philadelphia where the talented but troubled punter will try and boot away a stained reputation. His fate now lies in his big leg and what some have suggested is an even bigger head.

Wing's talent suggests he should have been drafted. He would have been if not for a handful of questionable decisions during his three years in Baton Rouge. Instead, he is one of nine undrafted free agents who arrive on Friday for the Eagles' rookie minicamp hoping to begin their quest to make the team. Wing will compete with veteran Donnie Jones — an LSU alum who he knows well — for the spot. Jones signed a one-year deal this offseason with the Eagles for close to the veteran minimum.

Wing isn't just another leg to keep the returners busy at minicamp and training camp practices. He's serious competition for Jones and a starting spot at a position the Eagles have struggled at in recent years. Wing may just be the long-term answer.

There's little to question about the left-footed punter's on-field credentials. They are impressive. That's why the Eagles have him in camp. He hit it off with new special teams coach Dave Fipp at the Combine and during a private work in Baton Rouge a few weeks before the draft, then jumped at the opportunity when the Eagles inquired after his name went uncalled in the seven-round NFL Draft marathon.

Wing, whose father had a brief stint with the Detroit Lions in 1990, was an All-American his freshman year at LSU with an impressive 44.4-yard punting average. He boomed a 73-yarder and had four kicks downed inside the 20-yard line in a massive game against Alabama. With his serious hang time and ability to angle the ball, he allowed just 73 total yards on 20 returns … for the season! Everything about his ability to kick and manipulate an oblong football suggests the former youth Aussie football player can become one of the league's best punter.

"When I came to LSU I just finished coaching Matt Dodge [with the New York Giants] and we drafted Matt Dodge in the sixth round. And Brad was better than Matt Dodge his freshman year at LSU," Tigers special teams coach Thomas McGaughey said. "He's pretty special. All you have to do is put the tape in and watch him."

The tape may say one thing, but Wing's off-the-field rap sheet says another. Proceed with caution.

The 22-year-old Australian was arrested in 2011 for simple battery, engaged in a shouting match with McGaughey during a contest and was suspended for LSU's bowl game this year after a failed drug test. Now, with a fresh opportunity and a newborn son by his side, Wing is out for redemption. His chance comes with the Eagles.

"I feel like I'm moving forward 100 percent," said Wing, who became somewhat of a cult hero at LSU where he had his own t-shirt and inspired the Brad Wing dance. "It was a bit of an uncertain time in my life and I was 20 years, got a little notoriety and was hanging around with the wrong people. Having a kid humbled me really quickly, and being suspended.

"It's a time thing. I just have to build trust with the right people and go into relationships knowing that, knowing that I've let people down in the past. It's just doing the right things over time and a couple years hopefully down the road when I built a nice career we can bury all the negative things with positive things."

It will take time. Not a lot of nice things were said or written about Wing during the draft process. Bob McGinn, one of the most respected football writers in the country, wrote a scathing piece on the punter where personnel executives and special teams coaches were quoted calling him a "problem child" who was "all con" and "wants the fame." It was a nasty piece that Wing's mother read, and may have even brought to his attention. It wasn't something that was easy to read about yourself or your child.

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"I just went in [to interviews] and was honest with them and told them I made poor decisions in college and was probably not hanging around the best people," Wing said. "I just didn't have the bigger vision and was going along with the flow. Being suspended the last game kind of woke me up making headlines and seeing my mom… it was tough for my mom. She works at the gym and everybody knows that is my mom. It was a real embarrassing and humiliating time for my family because of me. That really woke me up, and then I had my son too."

The negative whispers cost Wing a chance to be drafted, but he concedes there is no one to blame but himself. The incidents, the suspension, they were a product of his own doing, his own poor decisions. Most of what teams knew was a product of his actions, not any besmirching from coaches or other LSU football personnel.

"Anything with Brad when it came to the scouts, I was always up front and honest with those guys. And I told them if Brad were right here I'd say the same things because I was always honest with Brad," McGaughey said. "And I tell all of the guys the same thing. With Tyrann Mathieu, with Sam Montgomery, with Kiki Mingo, with Eric Reid, I tell them all the same thing. When those guys come in here and ask questions about you guys, I'm going to tell them the truth. It's up to you to give me the truth to tell.

"Is he a butthole, doesn't handle his business, skips classes and we have to worry about where's he going to be? Is he going to skip study hall and we can't depend on him? … I'm going to tell you the truth, so you can't get mad at me if someone comes in and asks me questions about what kind of guy is he, how does he work, what is his attitude? I'm just going to tell them what I see. You are what you are."

Wing insists what he was and what he is are two totally different things. He's now the father of a 1-month-old child. It's no longer all about him. It's about making a living to support his family, and in the process proving to the doubters he's gotten his act together. That means staying clean and out of trouble.

If he does, Wing could become the Eagles' third Aussie punter in recent years, joining Mat McBrier and Sav Rocca, two players he has tracked throughout their career. In fact, when Wing was growing up in Australia — he came to the U.S. at 18 year old — he was trying to follow in Rocca's footsteps as an Aussie Rules Football player.

"Obviously I know who they are. They're huge in Australia. Sav Rocca is a legend in Australia," Wing said. "I was running around in his jersey when he was playing Australian Rules Football. He was one of the guys I looked up to growing up. He used to be one of my favorite players. It's crazy to play in the same place he was at. It's unbelievable."

Nothing is guaranteed though. Wing has a long way to go before he makes the team, and there will be a lot of eyes on his progress on and off the field. He expects and welcomes the Eagles to structure his contract with stipulations related to his behavior. It's not something he's going to shy away from as he attempts to forge a successful NFL career.

"Whatever hoops they need me to jump through, I'm willing to do it," Wing said. "These first couple years when I'm really trying to establish my name in the NFL and my reputation if they say I have to wake up at 5 o'clock in the morning and do anything, I'll do it. I'm just really excited, ready to play football and not worry about all this type of junk."